Crab!

Whisperer · Mar 4, 2019

Found this crab, kinda pretty. It is beige with orange stripes and very fuzzy. Only active at night. Saw it dig in the sand and ate something. When stretched, it is more than 3 inches long. I don’t think it is a predator, does not bother sleeping fish.
Anyone knows what kind of crab this is?

BadPanda · Mar 4, 2019

Looks like a Pom Pom crab.

Whisperer · Mar 5, 2019

BadPanda said:
Looks like a Pom Pom crab.

Close, looked up pom pom crab. The pattern is similar but this crab has thicker bands/markings on the legs than pom poms and the claws of this crab are much larger and it is very fuzzy.

BadPanda · Mar 5, 2019

I would put it in the sump for now till someone can really ID that crab. Take a good pic before putting it in the sump. Sorry I couldn't help.

Whisperer · Mar 5, 2019

BadPanda said:
I would put it in the sump for now till someone can really ID that crab. Take a good pic before putting it in the sump. Sorry I couldn't help.

Very elusive, only comes out at night to feed on the sand bed. It's at least 3 inches long (with stretched legs). Thanks.

Whisperer · Mar 5, 2019

This was just a few minutes ago. Mandarin is too close for comfort. It picks stuff on the rocks and the tips of the claws look like that of emerald crab's. Note the very hairy shell!!!

crusso1993 · Mar 5, 2019

Hard to see the pics but possible Sally Lightfoot...

Whisperer · Mar 5, 2019

crusso1993 said:
Hard to see the pics but possible Sally Lightfoot...

Not likely, Sallies are have flat bodies, do not raise their bodies far from the ground, very fast moving, claws are relatively small for their bodies, dark brown color and they are not hairy. Thanks.

JAWS 32 · Mar 6, 2019

Check out this and see if anything looks close.
https://www.crabdatabase.info/en/photo-gallery/sea-life

I have quite a few crustacean id books and did not see his exact picture. I love all the cool hitch hikers like this and I too, like to have a positive ID. Anything that doesn't bother my fish, stays in the DT. I purposely have a large fuge so I could put not fish friendly hitchhikers there. I don't believe in killing anything that had no choice coming into my tank. Good luck with him!

Whisperer · Mar 6, 2019

Thanks for the link! I checked each crab in the link and the closest one (but not exactly the same) was Demania cultripes. Mine is very fuzzy and has smooth shell, not bumpy like Demania. So many crabs there but none exactly matched what I have. Can it be a new specie??? Hmmmm.

I am submitting the pic to the author and see if he can ID for me.

JAWS 32 · Mar 7, 2019

You're welcome! Hopefully the author can ID him. If he does, let us know!

Whisperer · Mar 7, 2019

JAWS 32 said:
You're welcome! Hopefully the author can ID him. If he does, let us know!

Well, the author responded to my query and indicated that he is unable to ID any crab from a photo (did he want to see the crab in person?) and wants information about location (I assume he meant, where the crab came from. Well, how would I know? It's a hitch hiker!). He said that the crab is from family Pilumnidae and that it is one of the most difficult to ID because of too many species. He guessed some kind of Viaderiana. Further, he said he will not be able to tell me more without closer examination (Did I mention, he wants the crab?). I guess, it remains to be determined if similar crab becomes more prevalent in the hobby. It is safe to say that the crab does not predate on sleeping fish (it ignored the mandarin that came too close to him and just continued to pick on the live rock).

Cmedeiros · Mar 7, 2019

Whisperer said:
Very elusive, only comes out at night to feed on the sand bed. It's at least 3 inches long (with stretched legs). Thanks.

Alien water spider

Whisperer · Mar 7, 2019

Whisperer said:
Well, the author responded to my query and indicated that he is unable to ID any crab from a photo (did he want to see the crab in person?) and wants information about location (I assume he meant, where the crab came from. Well, how would I know? It's a hitch hiker!). He said that the crab is from family Pilumnidae and that it is one of the most difficult to ID because of too many species. He guessed some kind of Viaderiana. Further, he said he will not be able to tell me more without closer examination (Did I mention, he wants the crab?). I guess, it remains to be determined if similar crab becomes more prevalent in the hobby. It is safe to say that the crab does not predate on sleeping fish (it ignored the mandarin that came too close to him and just continued to pick on the live rock).

Well, I think he got the right specie Viaderiana because when I searched that term, I found it but there was no specific name mentioned other than viaderiana sp.

JAWS 32 · Mar 7, 2019

Whisperer said:
Well, I think he got the right specie Viaderiana because when I searched that term, I found it but there was no specific name mentioned other than viaderiana sp.

Ok, at least it is a point in the right direction! That is great the author got back to you too! Prehaps as far as location, maybe he meant where the rock came from? That helps id creatures too. Hopefully he will live a long happy life in your tank!

Whisperer · Mar 11, 2019

Sad news. That crab turned out to be an assassin. Saw him the other night munching on a chromis. Tried to spear him with a tong but missed. He lost one claw. I thought he would not be able to hold on to a prey fish with just one claw (wrong!). Last night saw him again, tried to spear him again but he went inside a rock. Took that rock out of the tank and placed it in the vat with extra rocks. This morning, saw another chromis with a huge gash in the underside just past the cloaca, almost half way through his body. Anyway, checked the rock a few minutes ago, the crab was dead. Turned out the water in the vat was very high in salinity. Here is the convicted murderer!!!

Fotocha · May 14, 2019

Whisperer said:
Sad news. That crab turned out to be an assassin. Saw him the other night munching on a chromis. Tried to spear him with a tong but missed. He lost one claw. I thought he would not be able to hold on to a prey fish with just one claw (wrong!). Last night saw him again, tried to spear him again but he went inside a rock. Took that rock out of the tank and placed it in the vat with extra rocks. This morning, saw another chromis with a huge gash in the underside just past the cloaca, almost half way through his body. Anyway, checked the rock a few minutes ago, the crab was dead. Turned out the water in the vat was very high in salinity. Here is the convicted murderer!!!

Did you ever find out what he was? Had me going lol